Double Pole Pix

Boxing Day 2010

2010-12-26T16:58:00.000-06:00

Nice band of lake effect snow set up over Kenosha last night leaving between 7 and 10 inches of snow. The UW-Parkside course was just about at ground zero and it had a set track, so that's the hot spot for this week.

Domain Change

2010-11-16T07:03:00.000-06:00

In case some of you noticed, it's now "DoublePolePix" without the hyphen, although the original blogspot URL still has it (which I can't change).

First Snow!

2010-11-08T14:59:00.001-06:00

Okay, so maybe it's not snow from Mother nature, but it's good to see anyway! Was driving through Kewaskum to do some MTB riding and what before my wondering eyes should appear?

Time for some blog maintenance too. I see the falling snow background here has melted.

Skiing at Minooka Park !

2010-03-03T21:44:00.000-06:00

What a SWEET day to ski!

Here's a stupid video I put together. Ha Ha !

A Fine February Day

2010-02-19T16:47:00.000-06:00

What a great winter we're having for skiing, eh? My first ski was on December 7th and we really haven't had a forced break since. While the sun is showing more power this time of year, there is still TONS of snow on the trails. Ski on!

Scenes from Lapham Peak today:

The view from the tower:

Madison's Winter Festival tomorrow ... see you there.

2010 Wisconsin Biathlon Winter Festival

2010-02-06T15:23:00.005-06:00

Today was the second annual Wisconsin Biathlon Winter Festival held at the McMiller Sports Center near Eagle, WI. I don't have the exact numbers, but there must have been close to 75 or 80 participants in today's event. There was the Open race which was 6km of skiing interspersed with two times in the gun range - once standing, once prone (laying on your stomach). If you missed one of the 5 targets, then you skied a penalty loop before heading back out on the course. Then there was the novice race. Those guys skied a lot of penalty loops. LOL ! As far as I know, this is the only Biathlon range in Wisconsin. Minnesota has five. So, it sure is great having this here to use and enjoy. For more information on Biathlon in Wisconsin, check out the club's website: http://www.wisconsinbiathlon.com/

* Full Gallery *

2010 Iron Mountain FIS Continental Cup Ski Jumping Tournament ! (Part 2)

2010-02-01T22:05:00.002-06:00

Finally got through all the pictures and rather than me blabber on this and that, I'll just let the photos do the talking. Ten in total. I think they turned out GREAT and I can't wait to go back next year. If the photo is chopped a bit on the right, just click on it for the full screen version. Full gallery is HERE.

2010 Iron Mountain FIS Continental Cup Ski Jumping Tournament !

2010-01-31T23:00:00.001-06:00

This past Saturday I went up to Iron Mountain, Michigan for the 73rd annual Iron Mountain Ski Jumping Tournament at the 120 meter hill on Pine Mountain. Over 40 jumpers from across Europe and North America competed on a picture perfect winter day to the joy of several thousand spectators.

Anders Bardal (Steinkjer Skiklubb) won on both Saturday and Sunday with some impressive jumps.

(Anders Bardal - Norway)

(Christof Lenz - Austria)

The top 6 from Saturday:

1. BARDAL Anders Norway
2. Stefan Thurnbichler- Austria
3. Christian Nagiller - Austria
4. Manuel Fettner - Austria
5. Christoph Lenz - Austria
6. Herman Huczkowski - Finland

Much more tomorrow from this super event. It's getting late and my computer is just dragging too much. Check back then for some GREAT photos from the top of the hill !

Gallery: HERE

Ski Jumping! Suicide Bowl - Ishpeming, Mich.

2010-01-29T10:11:00.003-06:00

The 123rd Annual Tournament from the Ishpeming Ski Club (the first being in 1888 on the famous 90 meter hill at Suicide Bowl (coined in a newspaper article years ago, it's been made much safer these days).

Well, I gotta tell 'ya that this was easily my hardest shoot I've done over the past two years I've been shooting. The competition was 3 hours long, the temperature was +2F, and my legs are still sore after climbing up and down that big dumb hill in snow that was usually up to my knees and once up to my hip! (I'm 6ft 5in tall). (Click on each to see whole photo)

1. Twin Bon Fires. Ohhhh, so nice. I should have taken a photo of the large pile of beer bottles at the end of the night.

2. The hill. Man, props to the athletes for climbing up there some 150 feet above the trees in such cold temps, then zooming down at 55mph. Holy wind chill!

3. Looking Down. A view from about 1/3rd of the way up. Although the little 60lb kids had no problem scrambling up higher, this was as far as I could go. I'm just too old.

4. Low Flyer. Dave Edlund of St. Paul, MN showing just how high above the slope they fly. This was actually a rather short jump.

5. Close Up. Trevor Wert of Steamboat Springs, CO.

6. Anton Gerosimov of Russia.

7. Side view. They bend forward at the hips to give a more 'wing like' shape for more lift. Dan Englund - USA.

8. Bottom View. This was as close as I could get to the very end of the out run without climbing 8 feet of snow and ice, mixed with tree branches. Very frustrating trying to get a good angle to shoot from here. You can see a few spectators on the right side of the hill ... that's the high point I shot from and you can see what you've got to climb to get higher. I'll get there next year!

9. Flying Finn. Jere Kykkanen of Finland who placed fourth.

10. The Winner. Hakon Helgesen of Norway. Horrible photo, I know, but he won so he get's his photo published.

Thanks for looking. I tried _real hard_ to do my best, hopefully I'll do better tomorrow in the sunshine at Iron Mountain on the *120 meter* hill ! (this one was 90).

Ski Jumping !!

2010-01-25T12:13:00.003-06:00

Now it's time to shift gears over to that uber cool, fringe sport here in America, but huge in Scandinavia - Ski Jumping!

Beginning Wednesday there are three tournaments in five days right here in the midwest:

http://www.centralskijumpingusa.com/


January 27 - Ishpeming, MI (5 Hills Tour #2)
January 30/31 - Norge - Fox River Grove, IL (5 Hills Tour #3)

January 30/31 - Iron Mountain - FIS Men's Continental Cup K118

Here's some links to each event:

Ishpeming
Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain
Fox River Grove

I haven't been to Ishpeming in a long time and have never seen the 118m ski flying jump in Iron Mountain, so this is going to be very exciting. Last year I was at the Fox River Grove tournament and was very impressed.

Here's some video I shot:

I highly reccommend attending one of these competitions if you can, but if not, check back right here where I'll attempt to share the beauty and excitement of this thrilling sport!

2010 Lapham Loppet

2010-01-23T13:27:00.006-06:00

The 2010 Lapham Peak Loppet - slow snow - yes, but the rain held off and it appears that attendance was good. I laced up the combat boots, pulled on the red "Guideware" jacket and tromped off to the foggy peak, camera in tow. Way too foggy for any kind of telephoto lens, so I chose to go in close and use a flash like I do when shooting cyclocross. It's tough though, and kind of hit or miss. I tell 'ya, if they started that race on time, it sure didn't take long for the leaders to come through. There was a tight pack of three with a good 20 seconds over the next skier. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of all three together, but here's the leader at that point.

Chad Tolbert leads over the peak.

I hung around at that spot and shot 50 or more skiers, before hightailing it over to the other trail crossing at the top.

Roy Nilsen of Waukesha

I walked as fast as I could, but probably should have run because the leaders were skiing fast. So fast that I almost missed them! (great photo, eh?)

Chad Tolbert leads Thomas Stuber over the peak on his way to victory.

I know I didn't get all of you from here, but there are a few keepers!

Jim DiDomenico of Elgin, IL crests Lapham Peak.

Since I only shot one pic per skier, I should get though them pretty quick.

GALLERY

Lapham Loppet and Jumping Preview

2010-01-21T22:11:00.009-06:00

Nothing new from my camera, but check out the video from the latest biathlon races from Antholz, Italy: LINK Magdelena Neuner gets her first victory of the season in convincing fashion!

I've been struggling with the decision whether or not to head up to Eau Claire tomorrow to shoot the ski jumping. It's the first day of the "5 Hills Tournament" held here in the midwest:

http://www.centralskijumpingusa.com/

January 22/23 - Eau Claire Silvermine (5 Hills Tour #1) Registration/Invite
January 27 - Ishpeming, MI (5 Hills Tour #2) Invite
January 30/31 - Norge - Fox River Grove, IL JR/JOQ (5 Hills Tour #3) Registration /Invite
January 30/31 - Iron Mountain - FIS Men's Continental Cup K118
February 3 - Minneapolis K70 (5 Hills Tour #4)
February 5/6 - Westby, WI K108 (5 Hills Tour #5)

I think I'll pass on the 2 or 3am return to home, only to head back out at 8am for Lapham Peak, but I will go up to Ishpeming for Hill #2.

So, see you at Lapham Peak where I'll try to mix up the photos a bit. Make 'em more interesting.

2010 Greenbush USA Nordic Challenge

2010-01-17T14:50:00.005-06:00

Thomas Stuber (WIN Racing) get's his fourth win of the season !(I believe) and doubles up on the week end after winning the Snekkivik race in Wausau on Saturday. Shown here leading team mate and last year's winner, Chad Tolbert, the pair developed a one minute lead over third place Matt Zak giving their team a sweep of the podium. Well done mates!

If you recall, last year Tolbert swept the local scene by first winning the Greenbush race, then taking the Lapham Loppet the following Saturday. WIN Racing is certainly a force to be recconed with.

Photo gallery is HERE.

World Cup Biathlon Video Highlights

2010-01-16T18:23:00.004-06:00

Hey! Check out the replay of the latest biathlon World Cup from Eurosport: HERE

It's the women's mass start from Rhupolding , Germany where Biathlon is the sport of Kings. The crowds are huge and it's AWESOME!

Yes, that's Magdalena Neuner ... and she's awesome! LOL

Then see 'yall at Greenbush tomorrow.

Lapham Peak Weds Night Race

2010-01-13T23:25:00.006-06:00

Just a quick check in. Found a new spot on the course to shoot photos. Haven't seen all of them yet so I'm not sure how many are keepers, but it looks promising! Will have all posted with the link to them by Thursday evening.

Edit: PHotos going up slowly: GALLERY

Birkie Feed Zone video

2010-01-11T07:42:00.001-06:00

I made this video in 2008. It's the sights and sounds of the "OO" feed zone.

Enjoy!

Northern Illinois XC Challenge (Wheaton)

2010-01-10T12:46:00.009-06:00

A group of well over 100 racers showed up this morning at the Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton, IL where the thermometer was stuck at 0 degrees F. Jan Myrda of Palos Heights, IL (Bib #1), led from start to finish. Props to *ALL* who braved the cold wind this morning!

GALLERY

Results

Lapham Peak Night Races

2010-01-06T21:15:00.005-06:00

Wow, pretty good turnout in my opinion. Tough conditions for photography due to the low light, but I've got a few keepers out of it. Also, it's often tough to tell who's warming up and who's racing at times, so ... take these photos as a 'best of ' rather than a full race coverage.

I'll massage them tonight with Photoshop and post the keepers in the morning, so check back for that. GALLERY

This weekend, on Saturday, I'm going up to Minneapolis for some ski jumping on the 70 meter hill up there (Junior Olympic Trials) and Sunday I'll cover the XC ski race in northern Illinois. There should be enough snow for that one this year.

So, spread the word and check back for more midwest skiing pix!

Nashotah Race photos !

2010-01-02T14:19:00.014-06:00

I'll have many more tonight, after I get some sort of heat going in this office. It's cold in here!

Good turnout this morning for the Nashotah Park race. I don't have any results but photos I've got. Here the 12k leaders are heading out for their first of two laps.

More in a bit.

jw

Edit: Got the heater going under the desk, the cats are loving the big box that it came in. Time to edit pictures!

Gallery is HERE

I may hit the racing at Elver on Tuesday and certainly will make Lapham on Wednesday. That Nashotah race was a tough one, the cold temps froze my camera! Have to send it in for repairs but fortunately I have a back up. Think snow!

Nashotah race is on!

2009-12-28T15:42:00.004-06:00

I went over to Waukesha County's Nashotah park and the young lad at the front gate said that this Saturday's race is *ON*! The trails were groomed nicely and the groomer was already working the start area. I'll be there shooting pix of course so watch these pages for those!

Nashotah Race Flyer

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T15:07:00.002-06:00

Well, it's skiable! I went over to Minooka Park in Waukesha and while there is a TON of snow, it was 33F, raining, and no recent grooming so you had to ski in your own tracks. Pretty low on the Fun-O-Meter. I did try some WD40 on the skis to help in the glide (well, it is a water repellent, right?)It worked okay, not much glide to work with anyway though. So, we'll let it rain and see what we've got to work with after it's all over.

Spring Thaw?

2009-12-23T12:23:00.003-06:00

Nah, can't be that, it's only the second day of winter! The forecast for the next few days is looking grim though. I slipped out to Minooka Park last night to sample the 2 - 3 inches of snow we picked up. Plenty of depth, but it was slow! Should have waxed my no-wax skis.

This photo was taken at night, it's just a 7 second exposure.

Today, I'm heading up to Ozaukee County again to try a new place. Check back to see were I went!

Ski on.

Pike Lake State Park

2009-12-16T04:56:00.005-06:00

Sunny, 10F, but breezy. Brrrr. Plenty of snow, but the base was very irregular - soft, crusty, lumpy, deer tracks, boot tracks. Very tricky. I did ski for 1hr 45min though and the hills beat me up. I fought the trail ... but the trail won!

Ski rental list

2009-12-12T21:10:00.003-06:00

After four days of skiing this week, I took the day off. Instead I started a listing of places that rent XC skis and put that on the side bar. I still intend to add other cities and towns to the list, but if I missed a place, or you would like to recommend one, pass it along! Definitely need places in Illinois. Google is not showing much.

Good Tour!

Zillmer Trail - Northern Kettle Moraine

2009-12-11T20:41:00.001-06:00

Another super ski. Fully groomed trails with a classic track. Get to bed early so you can log lots of K's this weekend!!

Southern Kettle Moraine - Nordic Trail

2009-12-10T21:15:00.003-06:00

Where did this cold weather come from? LOL 5F this afternoon in the Southern Kettle Moraine Forest of Wisconsin. This week's blizzard did break some trees across the trail so those need to be cleared and then more grooming done to the snow. It was absolutely beautiful today though. Just beautiful.

First Night Ski - Lapham Peak State Park

2009-12-10T10:24:00.003-06:00

It's winter! Whooo Hooo! 8 - 10 inches of new snow just west of Milwaukee. The trails are groomed. Here's the report I filed last night before the cold blast set in.

2009-12-07T17:18:00.002-06:00

First ski of the year! This last storm deposited about 5 inches of snow in the West Bend to Port Washington area and it made for some pretty decent skiing!

2009 Birkebeiner

2009-02-22T05:45:00.001-06:00

Here’s the best of the pix I shot.

I was hanging out just past “OO”

where the classic trail met skate.

Click each thumbnail

for a larger view

Women:

Kristina Owen leads the women’s pack just past “OO”.

in order: kristina Owen , Evelyn Dong, Rebecca Dussault, and Kristina Trygstad-Saari. Then two men try to hang on !

Nicole A Deyong Lenka Palanova

Jan L Guenther Angela B Robinson Heather Zimmerman

Erin M Carter Jennifer L Pearson Muffy L Ritz

Jamie G Misner Jenna Dickinson Jena K Ogston

Bailey Roberts Michelle Flanagan-Haag Deborah L Adams

Men …

David Chamberlain leads just past “OO”.

Matthew E Liebsch, here in second place, leads Lars Flora.

Around the corner, David Chamberlain pulls the group, and

a little “HEY! My line !” action.

Zack S Simons, Mark Iverson, Karl Walczak Chad T Giese, Jonathon M Rulseh, Dan M Goltz

The King … Bjorn Daehlie.

(yeah, he get’s his own section)

At first glance, #1379 appears to know who just joined the group

from the classic only trail. I have a feeling, however, he’s just wondering

if he can jump in that gap and cut the corner, but unless your name

is Thomas Alsgaard, you’re not getting in there buddy!

There’s the finish!

Out of time for now, here’s the link for all the pix.

I’ll dump the better of what’s left on there probably tomorrow.

(not that anyone actually reads this)

Technorati Tags: 2009,birkie,birke,birkebeiner,hayward,john,wilke,photos,pics,pictures,bjorn,dahlie,daehlie.

2009 Madison Winter Festival - Recap

2009-02-16T12:56:00.001-06:00

All new photo’s Monday night …

Be sure to check ‘em out!

Team Fischer leads in heat #1

Is it Colin Rodgers or David Chamerlin?

(email me if you know)

More pix from Saturday here.

I am just out of time for today.

A big THANK YOU to organizers, skiers, and

of course all the volunteers for putting

on another great event.

Look for Sunday’s pix starting tomorrow and

Wednesday featuring the Wisconsin High School

Sprint Championships! Then don’t forget,

I will be at the Birkie some where after “OO”

depending on snow conditions Saturday.

2009 Madison Winter Festival – Day 2

2009-02-15T19:05:00.001-06:00

Here’s some teasers from today – Sunday

Check back Monday for more racing action once I

can find the official results!

the drama:

the emotion:

and of course, the podiums:

(Next week … the Birkie)

until then, you can watch my video from last year

2009 Madison Winter Festival

2009-02-12T16:35:00.001-06:00

Early photos …

MANY MANY GREAT PIX YET TO COME !

Nicole Deyong and Kristin Strandberg

Bryan Cook / Brian Gregg /

Well, that weather was scary …

59 degrees in February?

Save it for April !

However, winter continues in Madison this weekend

with the Winter Festival !

I’ll be there shooting the Super Tour events

and what I can catch of the high school races.

Full listing is here.

I was there last year and it was a blast.

Of course I shot video!

There’s three parts !

So, if you can’t make it, check back here

and I’ll show you what I found.

2009 Pre-Birkie

2009-02-07T19:09:00.001-06:00

Photos are posted !

HERE

Ken Statz leads 800+ skiers off Lake Hayward.

Warm snow made for sticky going, but here’s your winners:

My apologies to Paulette Nieme of Ironwood, MI

who won the 42k women's race.

I walked away from the line a

mere 2 minutes before she finished!

CHeck out all the rest - HERE

Now git going!!

(I know these are pretty crude, but stick with me

I’ll get it down … eventually! LOL )

Oh yeah, I didn’t make the jumping Sunday at Westby, too many

miles logged in the car Fri and Sat to do more Sun. Sorry !

Next up: Madison Winter Fest

Eau Claire SuperTour Jumping – Hill 3 of 5

2009-01-31T05:55:00.001-06:00

This was day one of the third hill of the “Five Hills Super Tour” held at the Silvermine Jumping Stadium in EauClaire, WI. Big crowd, big hill, big jumps. What a hoot !!

See 10 year old Trevor Edlund go 90 meters on my YouTube video.

On Saturday, he went 100 + !!

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram has a nice write up on the competition here and also a very nice slide show here. You can see the rest of MY pictures here. Will I be back next year? HECK YEAH !!

NEXT WEEK:

PRE-BIRKIE

HUDSON HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL

120 meter jumping from Westby, WI !

followed by the Big Kahuna, the “BIG B” !

Minneapolis Ski Jumping Tourney

2009-01-29T16:29:00.001-06:00

This was the first time I was at the Bush Lake Ski Jumps in Bloomington and I was impressed. I have to get back there to see it again, more from the top than the bottom. It was a cold, snowy night in Minnesota, very difficult from the stand point of taking pictures, so don’t look for crystal clear, razor sharp focus. I think they have more of an ‘old world’ artsy feel. If it weren’t for the US flag in the background, these could have been taken in old Oslo, Norway.

More from this series yet to come. It takes time to adjust contrast and noise levels. I have a great one of three jumpers cresting the knoll at the same time … has to be seen to be believed! The whole series is here.

I’ll be in Eau Claire tomorrow evening for the jumping there, then I have to return home to Milwaukee to work the weekend, so no Super Tour XC for me. (Boooo!) The good news is that I WILL make the Birkie after all. I’ll be looking for the great Bjorn Dahlie who, last I heard, will still be skiing it this year. So, if you find yourself skiing next to him, don’t go looking for pictures of yourself from MY lens! LOL!

Gud Tur.

Olympic style ski jumping in Chicago !

2009-01-27T16:37:00.001-06:00

Sunday was the 104th annual Winter Jumping Tourney at

the Norge Ski Club in suburban Chicago.

This was the first time I had ever been there and not only

did I take pix, I shot video too.

It was a great experience, I highly recommend it.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’m skipping the Lapham Peak Wednesday night sprints and driving up to the Minneapolis Ski Club for their International Tournament, the second part of the Five Hills Super Tour on their 70 meter hill.

Then, Friday I’ll be going up to Eau Claire for the third stop of the Five Hills Super Tour as they jump the 90 METER hill !

I’ll bring you more pictures and video of these tournaments, so be sure to come back ! (then it’s back to XC racing again)

Just rolled in from MSP.

Tough shooting conditions – night lights, foggy, snowing.

Here’s a sample, more to follow:

Wisconsin Biathlon Winter Festival

2009-01-26T02:55:00.007-06:00

- - -

Location – McMiller Biathlon Range, Eagle, WI

Conditions – Sunny, light wind, Zero degrees F.

Racing action – HOT !

The Wisconsin Biathlon Association’s first ski

race in southeast Wisconsin is in the books.

About a dozen skiers raced three times around

the 2 km rolling ski course stopping twice

along the way to shoot, once standing, once laying

on the ground, at the 5 targets.

The individual start format separated skiers by

30 seconds initially, but it wasn’t long

before competitors were racing head to head out

on the course.

A beginner's race with instruction and help

from experienced biathletes was held in the

afternoon,but in the morning it was all business

complete with Anschutz rifles and

grim determination.

Race organizer Paul LeBlanc humbly states

that “It’s a start” but I’m confident it’s not the end

of Biathlon at McMiller !

Take a look at more pix uploaded HERE.

and check out their web page, linked on the right –>

- - - - - -

This was day one in my ‘Winter Olympics’ weekend.

- Next up –

Ski Jumping at Chicago’s 104 year old

Norge Ski Club !

- - -

Wednesday night at Lapham

2009-01-21T22:06:00.001-06:00

- - -

It was a nice night for skiing: 15F, partly cloudy

with some stars in the sky. The snow was good,

grooming perfect. There was a pretty good turnout

too.

Tonights winner

– Michael Eckert (C.R.A.P. Racing) -

with a blistering time of 10:48

Gary Hovila – 2nd in 10:51

3rd – John Hallett in 11:05

Josh North (C.R.A.P. Racing) – 7th in 11:27

Brad Tagget

All the pix available HERE , results HERE .

These are in a PHotobucket gallery, so just grab ‘em

if you want ‘em.

Most didn’t turn out well enough to make good

prints, but should be fine for your blog, Facebook, or

avatar.

I know many of you will be in the Yoop doing the

Noquemanon Ski Marathon, so be sure to check out

the pix from the biathlon race at McMiller that I’ll

be shooting on Saturday. Then Sunday is the winter

jumping tournament in Chicago. I’ve been trying to

secure permission to shoot on this private club site

but have yet to have anyone reply to my requests.

With nothing else going on (ski wise) this side of

Duluth, I guess I’m going to go with my gear in hopes

of shooting and see what happens. It should be

interesting either way.

SKI ON !

Lapham Peak Loppet

2009-01-17T16:44:00.004-06:00

Chad Tolbert (C.R.A.P Racing) makes it two in a row!

As the leaders crested “The Peak” for the first time,

it was a group of four, tightly bunched.

The second, and last time over the top, it was down to three leaders

as they dropped down to the final loop down below.

Hopefully someone got a good photo of the finish, because by the results

Chad must have won it by a toe!

1 CHAD TOLBERT 34 M 00:30:59
2 CHRISTIAN BREKKE 26 M 00:30:59
3 BRENT WESOLEK 37 M 00:31:44
4 DOUG BODUCH 39 M 00:32:32
5 JAN MYRDA 37 M 00:32:33
6 JOSH NORTH 28 M 00:32:50
7 GARY HOVILA 44 M 00:32:51
8 JESSE COENEN 26 M 00:32:54
9 GREG GREENE 53 M 00:33:11
10 NATE ROEDL 13 M 00:33:11
11 JOHN HALLETT 44 M 00:33:12

Also congratulations to KATIE BREKKE who won the women’s division.

37 KATIE BREKKE 23 F 00:38:16 1OVERALL

Is one of these skiers her?

I sure don’t know, because the results don’t have skier’s bib #’s listed!

(grrrrrr … )

Oh, well. See all of YOUR pictures from this race HERE.

I’ll be at Lapham again this week for the Wednesday races followed by the first

ever Biathlon race at McMiller on Saturday and the 104th annual ski

jumping tournament at Fox River Grove, IL on Sunday.

Following that, I will be at the Pre-Birkie.

See ‘ya down the trail!

UPDATE!!!

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO OF THE PHOTO FINISH!

Thanks to "10ftback" for capturing that!

Lapham Peak – Wednesday night sprint

2009-01-14T22:20:00.001-06:00

Brrrr. It was a chilly one at +2F but at least the wind wasn’t blowing like it was forecasted to. A small gathering of hardy souls ventured out and made it look just too easy.

Photos of the leaders didn’t turn out like I would have liked, but fear not, I’ll get you guys in the next race. No problem! Tonight’s best shots HERE.

Stay warm !!

2009 Greenbush Ski Race and Winterfest – Results

2009-01-11T14:18:00.001-06:00

After having the first two races of the season here in SE Wisconsin cancelled due to lack of snow, it was great to finally get this racing season underway!

Warm ups:

The racing begins – Middle School:

High School:

Open Class:

Oyvind Solvang leads the pack from the start:

But Chad Tolbert was today’s champion.

The trails were in great shape, so be sure to hug your local groomer!

And a big thank you to the organizers for putting on a wonderful race.

(and not giving me a citation for walking on the first 100 meters of trail ! )

All of YOUR pictures are now posted HERE !

I had a great time … see you at Lapham.

Greenbush Winterfest and Race

2009-01-08T18:46:00.001-06:00

It should be all green light’s for this week’s racing if this 3 day forecast map holds.

Check Scott Bachmeyer’s excellent skier weather link on the right for more info.

Saturday: Northern Illinois Nordic has a race in Aurora if they get enough snow on Friday through Saturday morning. It may be a last minute decision whether or not they can pull it off so check their web page HERE for the latest info. I will try to make that one if I can.

Sunday:

With 2 to 4 inches of new snow forecast for the Greenbush area on Friday and Saturday, conditions should be excellent for this year’s edition. Click on the banner for the race flyer and check their web page for the latest conditions HERE.

Last year’s race was postponed until March due to lack of snow. It was a warm, cloudy day, light rain if I remember right, but the turnout was decent and it was lots of fun. Click the photo below for more pictures from last year, and here’s the video I shot as well.

Next Wednesday should be the first Lapham Peak night race as well. It’s going to be cold but I’ll be there shooting pix as well. Check back here for all the action!

January NO SNOW Blues

2009-01-04T14:45:00.001-06:00

Man, it was absolutely POURING rain last night … how depressing. On the upside, Universal Sports has *GREAT* coverage of this weekend’s Tour de Ski from Val de Fiemme. In fact, it was *LIVE* earlier this morning. You can still see it –ON DEMAND- HERE. The men raced 15km freestyle, climbed 425 meters up a climb maxing out at 28%. Ouch!

In fact, I’ve got the player minimized in the upper corner of my monitor as I type this. The spectators are lighting up fireworks as the leader passes. How cool!! I think Peter Northug had a heart attack as he crossed the finish line. *GRIN*!

Speaking of the Tour de Ski – check out Vegard Ulvang’s blog as he talks about the series.

Well, there is some snow coming in the middle of the week, so I’m hoping they can pull off a race at Lapham Wednesday night. If so, I’ll be there to take pix and post ‘em here.

PRAY FOR SNOW!!

C’mon snow! and Nashotah Park race preview.

2008-12-30T11:47:00.001-06:00

Well, that weekend stunk! 40+ temps and rain rain rain. The good news is there is new snow in the forecast. Perhaps more up north, but hopefully enough so that they can pull off the Waukesha County Citizen’s Cross Country Ski Race at Nashotah Park.

*C-A-N-C-E-L-E-D*

BAH !!

View Larger Map

I won’t be racing this weekend, but I will be there with my camera gear and I’m looking forward to it.

(Yeah, that’s the best I have from there)

So here’s the forecast and latest snow depths this week:

So, get out there and ski if you can, but if you can’t,

pray for more snow and enjoy this video of the day!

OH!! and check out last weekend’s racing from Prague on Universal Sports: HERE. Universal Sports is a breath of fresh air, allowing us here in the states access to this incredible coverage of this year’s Euro race scene.

Merry Christmas !

2008-12-25T18:09:00.000-06:00

All I want' for Christmas is a foot of snow … better yet, 17? Whoo Hoo !!

Lapham Peak was quite busy today, busy with skiers of all abilities.

The temperature was 15F with a light wind and picture perfect trails.

What a WONDERFUL Christmas Day. A skier couldn’t ask for more.

More Dusseldorf

2008-12-23T11:32:00.001-06:00

Just trying to wrap things up for the holidays, plus have to work all week, so no skiing for me today. Just some quick notes on this past weekend’s racing in Dusseldorf, Germany. Check out the cool course they skied on.

(from Ski Paradise)

Closer to home, we’ve got ourselves a real white Xmas brewing for this year!

There is easily 12 inches of snow on the ground with more coming! I know some

of you have new ski gear and I’m confident that you’ll get to use it often!

(The early leaders during last season’s Greenbush race)

Just got this email from CXC – check out the video they posted from this past weekend’s Junior Olympic Qualifying races:

http://www.cxcskiing.org/site_pages/juniors/MN-Valley-JOQ.htm

Check it out now, because it’s only going to be up for 3 days!

Hey, it’s warming up!

2008-12-22T09:23:00.001-06:00

-2F here this morning with a high of 6F !

Did you folks see the FIS Sprints from Dusseldorf,

Germany on Universal Sports this weekend? The course

was right in the city, next to the river on a 1km

loop, just like a criterium. The lights were on, the

fans were there, it was cool! The web page is down at

the moment, but check the link on the right side of this

page later today. The coverage from Saturday runs 1hr 45m !

Andy Newel placed 11th overall. In his early heat, he was

lined up right next to Christian Zorsi and other heavy hitters.

Andy was a ROCKET and led the first lap! You gotta see it.

Here’s Andy from a pic on his webpage: XSkiFilms.Com

Hopefully I can get some shots like that this winter! I’ll post the direct link to the video (on demand) when it’s available.

Get those boards out today, I will, with a camera too!

Edit: Universal Sports is back online. Here's this

past weekend's race.

Double Edit: Check out Andy Newell’s blog on Faster Skier! Lots of current pix there.

First Day of Winter – Brrrr !

2008-12-21T09:22:00.000-06:00

It’s WINTER! Celebrate!!

We did get 3 more inches of new snow last night though, that’s awesome!

Ski today, hmmmm … I’ll wait until noon, then see how the wind is. When I

put bird seed out this morning (no gloves) my thumbs were in pain within

60 seconds. That’s just plain cold reality! But, if you want to race in the cold,

you’ve got to train in the cold. Remember last year’s Birkie? That was no picnic.

That was a cold day, even if you were from Siberia

(or somewhere).

Anyway, it’s now Winter, enjoy it the best you can …

and that’s on skis of course !

Blizzard!

2008-12-19T13:23:00.003-06:00

A foot of snow on the ground already and it’s still snowing! It was almost a white-out driving home from work this morning it was BAD.

Quick preview – more later…

Okay, I admit I'm very biased when it comes to driving in snow. You see, I love it! I've always been a wanna-be rally car racer, so when it snows, I go for a drive ... just to drive in the snow. I've got AWD, Blizzak snow tires, and I know how to use 'em ... but it was BAD this morning … near white-out at times so you really couldn’t see how deep it was. State HWY 36 was one lane, 30mph MAX, and every once in a while, you'd run into a drift you never saw and POOOF the wave would break over the hood! It was crazy. The exit off of 36 was one set of old tracks, and I wasn't sure that I could make it ... I just keep my foot in it (25mph) and tried to point it straight. Luckily I made it. Arriving at home, I found a 4 ft wall of snow at the end of my driveway. Parking the car in the road (no choice) I grabbed the grain scoop out of the 'boot' and shoveled just enough to at least get off the road (only 4ft high, 6 feet wide, and 5 feet deep). From there again it was keep my foot in it and let the Blizzaks do their job, plowing snow with the front bumper as I crawled up the driveway.

So now I’m finally dug out, so it's back to skiing Saturday night. I’ll be at Lapham peak skiing and shooting pix under the lights. The trails should be groomed again, lots of folks out skiing, and it could be snowing some more.

It should be cool !

Zillmer Trail

2008-12-18T09:43:00.003-06:00

Chilly start this morning ... I think it was 11 when I woke up. Looking at the current snow depth maps this morning, I think I'm going to Zillmer and check it out. It's just north of West Bend, WI.

It looks like they may have the most snow in the SE Wisconsin area, so I want to check it out. It's "B" on the Google map.

More later .....

View Larger Map

Well, the weather was beautiful ... 15F, light wind, and skies turning sunny. The Zillmer trails had 2-3 inches of fluffy snow on top of a thin, lumpy base. Skating was 'ok', classic was fair to good. Had the DNR simply rolled the fluff down, it would have helped a lot, but that's okay. Even a mediocre day of skiing is better than ... well, just about everything! Here's a few pix and a short video from today. Video starts at the Sunburst Ski hill just south of Kewaskum. I know that's not XC, but it's the sights and sounds of winter which I simply love!

Time to hit it!

2008-12-17T08:36:00.004-06:00

Most areas around Milwaukee and Madison picked up about 3-5 inches of snow overnight. Pretty fluffy, but I'll head out early this afternoon to see what's skiable. There probably won't be much in terms of classic tracks, but some rolled trails might be good skating.

Channel 6 in Milwaukee is giving this forecast for Thursday:

SYNOPSIS by FOX 6 meteorologist Rob Haswell

The snow has ended from across all of Wisconsin with between 3 and 5 inches reported in most areas as expected.

A high will now move over us today but a very strong low system will develop
over Colorado and track across central IL Thursday night with heavy snow likely for our area. This is a classic storm track for big winter storms in souther WI. Significant accumulations are expected. However, we could see some freezing rain and sleet mixed in with the snow and lower snow totals near the illinois border. North of that expect somewhere between 6 and 12" by the time it stops later Friday morning.

After that a brief high pressure ridge builds back in for Friday night and Saturday morning but then another low tracks into our region Sunday with another few inches possible.

So, wax 'em up brothers and sisters, it's gonna be party time for the Winter Solstice on Saturday!

Update: Whitnal - the golf course is skiable but ungroomed. Mallard Pond is now frozen over, unknown ice depth though. We've logged many many laps on that pond, but be sure the ice is thick enough though, and stay away from both the damn and the feeder creek !!

Heading over to Minooka Park, again - plenty of snow, but no grooming.

Last stop - Little Muskego Lake.
A few ice fishermen out, ATV tracks on the ice. Could be
skiable if you're REAL CAREFUL. SAFETY FIRST!!
But looks inviting, eh?

Lastly, to all those folks where were jumping with glee when the warm temps
hit on Sunday .... I say:

PFFFFFT !! WE'RE STILL SKIING !!!!

Game-on! (again)

2008-12-16T14:38:00.004-06:00

Okay, I'm done grinding my teeth over the past weekend's thaw out and rain event. I've wiped away the tears after loosing all that snow, because there's more coming for this weekend!! Img courtesy of Scott Bachmeier and his nordic skiing weather page!

The long range forecast for the upcoming week. I suspect this img. changes from time to time, so check Jim's weather page for the most up to date information.

Yes, there was a race up in Ironwood this past weekend. By what I've read, it was a good one (report), but there was no way I could make it so first race covered here will be the Nashota Park race on January 3rd which is about 5 miles north of Laham Peak (I assume you all know where that is). I'll post the flyer for that race once I find it. The grooming is done by Waukesha County so it will be pristine, you won't want to miss it! However, if you do, all the pix will be right here.

So, rest up guys and gals ... we'll be skiing again soon!!

December at Scuppernong.

2008-12-14T07:42:00.001-06:00

This past Thursday I gave up some sleep and drove out to the Scuppernong trails near Eagle. This classic only system is a wonderful network of trails set into the Southern Kettle Moraine forest which is a mixture of mature oak trees and towering pines. I used to come here with my older brother starting in about 1976 (I was 16). Leaving as soon as the roads were drivable after a snow storm, we came here in his '72 VW Squareback. I struggled to stay behind him as he broke trail through the fresh snow. We had a blast.

Last year we had the snowiest December on record, and at this point we are 3 inches ahead of that pace. Who knows what’s in store for us, but as of right now, the skiing is incredible. It’s mid-winter and all the skiers are loving it!

As you ski along the Scuppernong trail you encounter the first split. To the right is a picnic area which is closed from the road, but open to skiers. Be adventurous and check it out. Bring a lunch, or play some hoops!

On this day, there weren’t many skiers so it was very quiet in the forest. I’m sure the sound of my skis carried far into the trees as I chuffed my way up and zoomed my way down the hills. Listen for yourself in this short video.

Late Autumn storm arrives!

2008-12-09T18:23:00.000-06:00

6 to 10 inches of new snow depending on where you live.

Whooo Hooo !!

This is Lapham Peak this afternoon.

Not groomed yet ... but it will be, you know that!

And some video I shot today. Nothing special, just enjoying an early winter day.

Another Autumn Storm !

2008-12-08T11:18:00.001-06:00

Here comes another one! It may be more of a sloppy
mix of rain and snow, but I'll hope for the best. Get some
skiing in today if you can.

I made some changes to the header photo here.
Looking better, more changes in the works.

Ski-on.

Ready for the weekend.

2008-12-05T18:18:00.000-06:00

Full-on winter conditions now. 14F at sunset. Packed powder and recently re-groomed at Minooka.

Giddy Up.

Ski - On !!

2008-12-02T17:44:00.000-06:00

The first real snow fall of the year was Sunday. In general it was 2 inches but a band of lake effect snow dumped 6 to 10 inches across parts of the area. The wonderful groomer at Minooka Park took full advantage of that and double tracked the whole trail system. There are some leaves on the trail in the wooded areas but very few thin spots.

Not knowing what I'd find, I just headed over in civies (blue jeans). Tomorrow it's full
ski gear!

More snow in the forecast for tomorrow.
I say: BRING IT ON!!

Roll 4 Snow

2008-11-08T23:47:00.000-06:00

The first race of the year was held in 37 degree rain.

Cold? 'Ya, but not cold enough!

Winner Pete Jennik says:

"The cold doesn't bother me, after a short time your skin just goes numb" !

See all the pix right HERE!

2008-11-08T21:26:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Double Pole Pix where I will bring you the best coverage of the region's Cross Country Ski Racing. Lapham, Greenbush, Nine Mile, Hayward ... I'll be there with my gear capturing the action, the pageantry, and the emotion of the season's hardest races starting in January. Highlights will include the Lapham Peak Wednesday night sprint series, the Madison Winter Festival, the Birkie, Lapham, Greenbush, Nashotah, and hopefully some ski jumping (the 70 meter hill stuff). I will also be posting virtual tours of the region's best XC ski trails as I travel the area looking for the best snow conditions. It's going to be a great winter ... *THINK SNOW!*